Report: Li Claimed By Tigres

Nikita Li has been claimed off waivers by the Victoriaville Tigres, reports TVA Sports’ Mikael Lalancette.

The Saint John Sea Dogs drafted the Russian forward with the 65^th overall pick in this year’s CHL Import Draft. He appeared in one regular season game, recording no points. Li was the odd man out in the Sea Dogs’ import situation and the team assigned him to the USHL’s Des Moines Buccaneers.

According to media reports that surfaced last week, the Dogs didn’t place Li on waivers before sending him to the USHL, which is why he is now apparently a member of the Tigres instead of the Buccaneers.

This is a weird situation. Sea Dogs general manager Darrell Young had said that the import they chose not to keep – either Li or Juraj Siska – had a spot waiting for them with a USHL team. So, you would think this had been okayed by the league… but I guess not? I don’t know. I’m not even going to try and understand all these import rules and loopholes and loop-don'ts.

Li is a bit a mystery, but he did look decent in his short time with the Sea Dogs. Victoriaville now has three imports on their roster: Li, Jan Mandat, and Fillip Pyrochta.

The Tigres and Sea Dogs meet on December 10 in Victoriaville and February 18 in Saint John.